Return to Me
by MsBlackOut
Summary: When Adrien's guilty conscience gets the better of him, he roams out as Chat Noir to return a borrowed pencil to Marinette – and yes Plagg tells him he's nuts. Yet in his endeavour to do the right thing, Chat Noir sees something he shouldn't, Tikki. (One shot)


_Dear Reader, here is short story number seven. I had great intentions of writing another chapter of Unobtainable or Feline Neglected but this little story popped in my head and I couldn't resist writing it. I hope you enjoy…_

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If there was one thing that Adrien Agreste loathed about himself, it was his guilty conscience. Having been told what was appropriate, what was not, what was right and what was wrong made him rather sensitive when he felt in the wrong. So, having accidently taken Marinette's pencil home from school was worrying him far more than it should have.

Anyone else would have made sure it was in their school bag and would have returned the object the next day. Adrien was not most people. The pencil sat on his computer desk, practically staring at him and taunting him with guilt.

Plagg thought he was nuts. "It's just a pencil."

"I know that, Plagg. But it's the principal of the thing."

"Just take it back to her tomorrow."

Adrien knew his kwami was right but it still ate at him. "I could return it tonight."

"I'd ask how, but I'm pretty sure I've got an idea."

The model gestured to his ring. "Just a quick jaunt."

"Won't she think it's odd that Chat Noir is bringing back her pencil?" Plagg pointed out.

"Um, well, I could say Adrien gave it to me to pass along."

The cat kwami shot him a droll look. "You really think she'd buy that?"

Adrien's lips pulled back from his teeth in a grimace. "Maybe."

"Do you think it's possible that you're simply looking for an excuse to see Marinette?" Plagg taunted as he palmed his cheese.

"I see her every day at school, why would I need an excuse to see her?"

"I don't know, you're the one desperate to return her pencil."

Frustration was an emotion Adrien was very familiar with. Plagg evoking it wasn't new, although the kwami had nothing on Gabriel. "Fine, I won't return the pencil tonight."

Plagg tossed his camembert in the air and scoffed it down. "Doesn't bother me either way."

And that's what Adrien tried to convince himself. It didn't matter if he returned the pencil at school tomorrow. There was nothing to be edgy about. Regardless, by 11pm he couldn't take it anymore. Even his dreams were haunting him with giant pencils chasing him around the school calling him a thief.

With a nudge of his knuckle, Adrien woke up Plagg. "I need to return the pencil."

"You need to sleep and so do I. Do you have any idea how much sleep a cat requires?"

"You're a magical cat, Plagg."

"Meaning my sleep is extra precious."

"What's extra precious is your attitude." Adrien grumbled to himself.

"I heard that, super feline hearing and all. Go to sleep."

The model crossed his arms and smirked at his kwami who had one eye closed. "Plagg, claws out."

Plagg grumbled something that Adrien chose to ignore as he was sucked into the ring miraculous. Soon enough, Chat Noir stood in the place of Adrien. Picking up the wayward pencil from his desk, the blonde grinned. "Let's get you back where you belong."

After five years of being Paris' renowned feline hero, Chat Noir had no problems navigating the city rooftops. Heck, he could get to Marinette's place by muscle memory alone. With a confidence built from years of modelling and being a superhero, Chat Noir dropped to Marinette's balcony with barely a whisper. Proud of himself, he twirled the pencil like a mini baton between his fingers.

Now he was here he needed to work out the best means to return the pencil. Creeping forward in a crouch, Chat Noir moved to the skylight above Marinette's bed and peered below. The girl was curled on her side, her sheet tangled around her middle and her long legs lay exposed on the mattress. It appeared his friend was a rather restless sleeper. But what shocked him to his core was the tiny creature sleeping on her pillow.

There lay a red biped with a bulbus head, dotted with black spots. Very few would be able to identify what the creature was but Chat Noir knew beyond a doubt that he was looking at a kwami, and not just any kwami. Ladybug's kwami. That meant, Marinette was Ladybug, didn't it? But Marinette wasn't exactly a carbon copy of Ladybug.

Sure, she was brave and courageous, standing up for her classmates and what she thought right. But she was also clumsy and shy. Still, Chat Noir was sitting there mulling over his thoughts, piecing them together as he tried to work out if Marinette could possibly be Ladybug.

The pencil suddenly seemed unimportant. Lifting the skylight window, Chat Noir eased himself down. Carefully placing his feet either side of Marinette and slowly sinking his weight into the mattress so he didn't disturb her. A blush stole over his face as he realised he was straddling her as he dropped to all fours. The girl would freak out if she opened her eyes.

Scuttling back with utmost care, Chat Noir made his way down her ladder and placed the pencil on her desk. Much to his horror, his transformation suddenly dropped. Adrien glared at Plagg and spoke through his teeth. "What are you doing?"

"You saw Tikki, I have to let her know. She'll be ropable if I don't." The black kwami grumbled.

Adrien's green eyes widened as Plagg shot up to the loft bed. Before he could think, the model hurried up the ladder and climbed to the foot of the bed just as Plagg poked the red kwami. Tikki woke with a start, "What is it, Marinette?" Then her big blue eyes cleared of their daze and recognition kicked in. "Plagg, what are you doing here?" she hissed in a whisper.

Plagg pointed to Adrien. "He needed to return a pencil to pigtails here. Couldn't wait until the morning."

A perplexed expression settled on Tikki's face. "Huh?"

"Exactly," Plagg concurred.

"It was keeping me up," Adrien whispered in explanation as he shuffled a little higher on the bed.

Marinette snorted in her sleep and her leg kicked up, knocking him onto his back beside her. The girl's speech was slurred, "You won't take him, Lila!" Suddenly, Marinette's hand slapped down on his chest, hard enough to wind him temporarily. Then her eyes fluttered open to stare at him.

"Hi," Adrien murmured with a little wave while his cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"Adrien," she gasped, then a slow smile spread across her lips. "Oh, I like this dream."

His heart ratcheted up a notch when she took his face between her hands. "I, um, guess you're wondering why I'm here."

Marinette shook her dark head, "Not really."

Was she still partly asleep? She had to be. Marinette was never this forward or confident with him. Then it registered what she said. She wasn't surprised to find him in her bed. Adrien swallowed at the ramifications. Marinette was Ladybug and Ladybug dreamed about him, in her bed. He must have died and gone to heaven.

Clearing his throat, he had to ask. "What are you going to do with me?"

A devilish grin widened her smile. "I'm going to kiss you senseless." And then her fingers slid from his face into his hair, holding him in place as her lips claimed his. Closing his eyes, Adrien lost himself in the moment, knowing this was Ladybug who was kissing him. Finally!

All sense of time disappeared as the pair languidly kissed each other silly. Their kwamis had long since departed the loft bed and were busy catching up on good times and eating their weight in yummy food on the desk below. At some point the pair of teenagers wore each other out and fell asleep.

A screech awoke Adrien with a start. At first, he was disorientated with where he was until he saw Marinette with her knees tucked under her chin, staring at him like he was an apparition. "W-what, Adri-, um, h-how?"

The model shot her a lopsided grin, guaranteed to melt hearts. "You don't remember?"

Those blue eyes grew huge. "Remember?"

"Well, you didn't really let me explain myself. You were much more interested in kissing me." Adrien smirked when she baulked.

"W-we, we kissed?"

"A lot," he said with a satisfied lift of his eyebrows. "I actually came over to give you back the pencil I borrowed but I may have seen something I shouldn't have."

Marinette wrapped the sheet firmly around her body as her face bloomed an impressive dark pink. Her voice was panicked, "What did you see?"

"Your kwami." Adrien pushed himself up on his elbows to look over the bed railing. "I'm assuming she's down there somewhere with Plagg."

"Plagg?" was the stunned response from Marinette.

"Yeah, Plagg. He allows me to transform into Chat Noir."

Suddenly she was fisting the front of his shirt, dragging him up with her blue eyes wild. "You're Chat Noir?"

"That I am, milady."

Marinette dropped her head, resting it on his chest. "Oh God."

"You said that too."

"Oh God." Her face buried deeper.

He snickered. "Don't worry, we only kissed. Well, mostly."

She was talking into his shirt. "So, you're Chat Noir."

"I thought we'd established that."

Blue eyes peered up at him, her face still at his chest. "And Chat Noir loves Ladybug."

"That he does."

"And I'm Ladybug."

"That you are."

"So that means…"

"That I love you? That would be a yes."

"I love you too."

With a rough shove, Adrien was tumbled to his back again and just like the time before his lady was kissing him senseless. Between smooches he uttered, "Bet you're wishing you lent me a pencil sooner."

"Shut up and keep kissing me."

And so, he did.

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 **I hope you enjoyed the one shot. I could totally imagine Adrien doing just that. He is such a goose.**

 **Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you thought of the story below. Cheers :)**


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